COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Led by Peter Kobelt on Senior Day, No. 1 Ohio State finished off its ninth consecutive Big Ten undefeated record with a 6-1 win against No. 63 Nebraska on a Sunday afternoon at the Outdoor Varsity Tennis Center. The Buckeyes conclude the regular season with a 27-3 overall record an 11-0 mark in league play. Following its 189th consecutive home win, Ohio State was awarded the conference trophy for the ninth consecutive year, while Kobelt, a native of New Albany, Ohio, was recognized in front of his hometown crowd.
“It’s a great day to celebrate a Big Ten championship,” director of tennis and head coach Ty Tucker said. “Peter Kobelt is good people. He has a great family and is a Columbus guy. We are not only going to miss the leadership and wins but also the support around the community when a guy like Peter Kobelt plays for your team. We still have tennis to play, though, and will look to get better heading into the postseason next week.”
Kobelt, a 2014 Big Ten Medal of Honor Finalist, clinched match point for the Buckeyes for the sixth time this season after downing Dusty Boyer 6-1, 6-1, on court No. 1. Kobelt claims his 250th combined career win in his final regular-season home match with the straight-set victory.
“We had a goal to go undefeated in the Big Ten and it’s great to accomplish that today,” Kobelt said. “I just want to thank my family, friends, coaching staff and teammates for the all the support over the last five years. It’s been an incredible year so far and I’m excited to see what is next for us.”
The Scarlet and Gray also extend their Big Ten regular-season match win streak to 93-consecutive wins, which dates back to the 2006 campaign.
The day began with Ohio State claiming 22nd doubles point of the year vs. the Huskers. Kobelt and redshirt freshman Ralf Steinbach clinched it with an 8-5 win on court No. 1 against Brandon Videtich and Bradford Zitsch. Redshirt junior Kevin Metka and freshman Herkko Pollanen cruised to an 8-1 victory on court No. 2 against Dusty Boyer and Marc Hermann to finish first. Play was suspended on court No. 3 with redshirt junior Hunter Callahan and Chris Diaz leading 7-4 on court No. 3.
In singles, No. 110 Callahan was the first to finish his match, defeating Zitsch, 6-1, 6-1, on court No. 1. Diaz followed just seconds later with a 6-2, 6-0 win against Tom Blackwelll on court No. 1 to make it 3-0 in favor of the Buckeyes. Callahan now has a team-best 29 wins, while Diaz earned his 10th dual victory of the year.
No. 93 Pollanen fell to Herrman after battling back down a first set, 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (10-4) on court No. 2 to give the Huskers their lone point of the day. Metka was back in the singles lineup after a night off on Friday and won 6-3, 6-3 against V. Stravropoulos on court No. 5. The last match came to down a back-and-fourth battle in a third set super tiebreaker when Steinbach posted an impressive win against Andrew Dzulynsky by a score of 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (19-17), on court No. 4.
